New Washington GM Tommy Sheppard has been clear: The Wizards top off-season priority is to re-sign Davis Bertans, pair him with Bradley Beal and a healthy John Wall, and chase the playoffs.
Some teams may try to sign Bertans outright as a free agent (New York and Atlanta have been rumored). However, as happened at the trade deadline when it was Denver, Philadelphia, and Boston, a lot of teams are going to come calling on Washington with trade ideas, specifically sign-and-trade offers. The Wizards may have to consider some of them, reports Chase Hughes at NBC Sports Washington.Multiple teams without the cap room to sign Bertans are preparing to make sign-and-trade offers in free agency, NBC Sports Washington has learned. That is in addition to the teams that have the cap room to fit his salary without a trade.
The teams were not specified, though one source said there are two Eastern Conference teams and one from the West who are interested in sign-and-trade scenarios involving Bertans. That is along with at least three teams - the Hawks, Knicks and Suns included - expected to target Bertans early in free agency using their cap room, as NBC Sports Washington previously reported.
Bertans is a modern stretch big who was always going to draw a lot of interest — and he knew it, so he skipped playing in the bubble as not to risk injury. Bertans averaged 15.4 points a game for the Wizards, and more importantly shot 42.3% from three as a catch-and-shoot specialist.
Bertans has said he wants to stay in Washington, but ultimately money talks. If a team comes in with the right contract and the right trade offer, Washington should be down for a sign-and-trade move.
